Centrifugal pump



June 11, 1940.

E. M. GREENLEE El AL 2,203,958

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP I Filed May 15, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l /7 Eli M. Greenlee.

/bse pfi 5. Kai Z'Zel.

INVENTORS.

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ATTORNEYS.

Jllfie 11, 1940. E. M. GREENLEE ET AL 2,203,958

CENTRIFUGAL PUIP Fil ed May 15, 1939 2 Sheet'sSheet 2 INVENTORS'.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 11, 1940 @UNITED STATE PATENT orrlcs C'ENTRJFUGAL PUMP Eli M. Greenlee, Newport, Ky., and Joseph Knittel, Hartwell, Ohio Application May 15, 1939, Serial No. 273,704

5; Claims. (01. 103-96) Another object is to provide such a pump which operates with high efliciency and produces a full and steady flow of the projected fluid.

Another object is to provide a pump of this kind in which the impeller is spaced at a substantial distance from the adjacent casing walls so as to obviate injury to the impeller and other parts of the pump due to the passage of grit and other foreign material therethrough.

Another object is to provide a centrifugal pump which may be produced, assembled and operated simply and at a minimum of cost.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

.Fig. 1 is an el-evational view of the pump of i .this invention associated.

with a suitable operating motor. i l

i Fig. 2 is a View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. l i i i "Fig. 4' is a plan view ofthe body of the pump with the upper half of the casing and the drive shaft removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectionalview on the line 55 of Fig. 4. l

Fig. 6 is a plan View of thelower half of the pump body with the drive shaft and the upper portions of the impeller removed.

Centrifugal pumps heretofore in use have, in l general, been expensive in upkeep due to the rel ative complexity of theirconstruction and the fineness of adjustment betwetn their parts necessary for insuring efficient operation. More specifically, centrifugal pumps, as known at the present, usually comprise an impeller formed with a number of fins, the impeller being ordinarily positioned in close juxtaposition with the surrounding casing. Under these circumstances, the

entry of foreign material, such as grit, metal particles and shavings and the like, readily cause injury, not only to the impeller and itsfins, but

to the surrounding portions of the casing with parts becomes necessary to restore the pump, to good operation. This is obviously costly and tirnewdhsuming. It. has represented the primarydifiiculty indevices of thecharacter here 2B interposed between them. the result that regrinding and substitution of considered. Theyendeavor to overcome these disadvantages to some extent by the use in the pump,

construction of hardened and expensive metals raises theinitial cost of the pump and, of course, its upkeep, if equivalent materials are substituted when repairs are necessary. In addition to all this, the operation of centrifugal pumps heretofore has not been entirely satisfactory due to a limited output of the pumps and uneven flow A of the projected fluid.

These and other difficulties heretoforeencounj tered are obviated by the present invention in which, briefly, the pump comprises an impeller .in which the peripheral impelling portions are formed of helical spring members which take the place of blades or fins heretofore utilized in pumps of this .kind. The pump provided with such an impeller operates with high efiiciency and, due to its peculiar character, permits of considerable spacing of the impeller from the surrounding casing so that the danger of injury to the pump parts by the entry of foreign material is eliminated. Moreover, an impeller, formed as described, maybe produced inexpensively, since the spring members utilized need not be of special character but merely of such sturdiness or weight asto withstand the anticipated strains.

In greater detail and with reference to the drawings:

The pump of this invention may be formed with a casing comprising a lower half It and an upper half I of semi-elliptical outline, as seen in Figs. 2, 4 andfi, and provided with lateral flanges I2 adapted to be disposed one on the other and secured together by a suitable means, such as I threadedbolts l3.

Thecooperatingcasing halves Ill and H are formed; with registering openings adapted to form an enlarged inlet port -l l and a relatively reduced outlet port I5 (Figs. 1. 4 and 6). Between these, the lower casing Iii may be formed with an internal rounded shoulder l5. (Figs. 3,

4, and 6) for a purpose to be described. Ex-

ternally, theadjacent portions of the upper and lower casings l0 and ll may be formed with recluced flange members l1 adapted to be secured together. It will be seen in Fig. 3 that the connection flanges of the upperand lowerparts of the casingsare adapted to have gasket means Both the casing members Ill and H are formed members It and H. The impeller comprises a pair of upper and lower body members 2| and 222, respectively, (Figs. 3 through 6) and an intermediate member 23. These three impeller parts are adapted to be removably secured together as by threaded bolts 24 (Fig. 3). It will be seen, in Figs. 4 and 6, that the upper and lower impeller members 21 and 22 may be generally circular in outline, while the intermediate member 23 may be morein the shape of a transversely extending'b'ar with a central enlargement 25.

The upper and lower impeller members 21! and 22 are correspondingly formed at their peripheries with channels 26. At opposite sides, the upper and lower impeller members 25 and 22 are formed with extensions 3d and 3 which, on-

their inner sides, are of concave formation com plementary to the channels 25, resulting in the semi-circular contour seen in Fig.3. The upper and lower sides of the intermediate impeller "member 23 are formed with grooves 2"! adapted lower portion thereof. As seen in Figs. 4 and 6, V

the upper and lower spring members may each comprise two independent springs disposed in the channels 26 of the impeller members 2! and 222,

' respectively, and having their ends brought into juxtaposition and secured between the extensions 3t and 3| of the upper and lower impeller members and the grooves 21 of the intermediate impeller member 23 (Figs. 3, 4 and 6). The several sections of spring, in being so positioned, are somewhat compressed so that the springs of the upper and lower impeller members converge somewhat toward one another whereby, as seen in 4 and 5, the coils interengage, as seen particularly at 32 (Fig. 5). This forms, as'it were, a centrally extending shelf along these adjacent portions of the upper and lower. spring units. The threaded bolts M (Fig, 3) secure the whole impeller into one unitary member. It will be seen. in Fig. 3 that the outer edges of the extensions 3e and 31' (see Fig. 3) are adapted to seat flat against the outer edge portions of the intermediate member 23, asat 33.

The impeller so formed is adapted to have securedcentrally. thereof a drive shaft M which projects through the journal l8 and has its lower end seated within the journal I9. The securing together of the impeller and the shaft 34 may be effected by a pin 35 (Fig. 3) which extends transversely through the shaft and has its projecting ends clamped between a groove 36 (Fig. 6) provided in the upper face of the intermediate impeller member 23 and a corresponding, groove formed in the under face of the upper impeller member 2i. The lower end ofthe shaft in its journal is may be surrounded by a suitable roller bearing 3'! and the portion of the drive shaft passing through the journal it may similarly be surrounded bya. roller bearing 38. Suitable liners 39 for these parts maylikewise be provided.

As shown in Fig. 1, the top face of the upper journal lilmay have'securedthereto the attachment flange it of a tubular housing M and the upper endof said housing 4| may have associated therewith a shelf 42 adapted to have a motor 51% positioned thereon for driving the shaft 3 1, which passes through the tubular housing 4|.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the semi-elliptical outline of the pump casing results, in accordance with the present invention, in enlarged spaces M and 45 adjacent the inlet and outlet M and E5, The enlarged spaces, thus provided between the impeller and the casing wall, gradually taper inwardly of the casing to achieve what may be described as a squeezing action on'the propelled fluid, but at no point does the impeller approach the casing wall closely enough to render possible aninjury to any of the parts by passage of foreign particles through the pump. The result of the double taper thus described is, first, to admit a large volume of fluid into the casing, then to compress and accelerate passage of the fluid through the more'restricted portions of the casing, and finally, to cause a swift, un-

impeded and uniform expulsion of the fluid through the enlarged outlet space 45 and the more restricted outlet proper seen at l5.

The extensions 36 and Si and the associated portions of the intermediate member 23 of the impeller and likewise the shelf-like interengaged.

portions of thespring coils, indicated at 32 (Fig. 5), all cooperate in increasing the impelling action and eliminate the possibility of any mere churning or turbulence of the fluid in the casing. The internal shoulder l5 (Figs. 3 and 4) of the lower casing member i6 is so formed as to somewhat closely approach the outside lower return flow of fluid between the inlet and outlet ports M and i5 is substantially precluded.

Modifications may be resorted to in the construction of this invention without departing from its scope. For example, the spring members of the impeller need not be necessarily helical, that is, rounded, but may be of another shape, and the cross-section of the'wire forming the springs may likewise be modified, if desired. For example, the cross-sectional shape might be square rather than round, as shown. These and other modifications that may suggest themselves ,7 i

are, however, believed to be included within the present invention.

What is claimed is:

edge of the said impeller member lfl so that a l. A centrifugal pump comprising a casing body member and forming peripheral impelling portions thereon, and means for rotating the im peller.

3. A centrifugal pump comprising a casing provided with an inlet and an outlet port, an

means forrotating the impeller.

4. A centrifugal pump comprising a casing provided with an inlet/and an outlet port, an impeller in the casing. and comprising a body member, a helical spring positioned about the body member and forming peripheral impelling portions thereon, laterally extending portions on the impeller body to increase the impelling action I and further serving to, give balance and impetus to the impeller during rotation, and means for one above the other about the body member and forming impelling, means thereon, and means for driving the impeller.

6. A centrifugal pump comprising a casing:

provided with an inlet and an outletport, an impeller in the casing and comprising a body member, a pair of helical spring units positioned one above the other about the body member and forming impelling means thereon, said spring units having adjacent portions of their helices interengaged and providing a relativelysolid section to increase im-pelling action, and means for driving the impeller. i i

7. A centrifugal pumpcomprising a casing provided with an inlet and an outlet port, an impeller in the casing and comprising a body member, a pair oi helical spring unitspositioned one above the other about the body member and formingimpelling means thereon, a laterally-extending portion on the impeller body to increase the impelling action, andmeans for driving the impeller.

8. A centrifugal pump comprising a casing provided with an inlet and an outlet port, an

, impeller in the casing and comprising a body member, a pair of helical spring units positioned one above the other aboutthe body member and forming impelling means thereon, laterally-extending portions on the impeller body to increase the impellingaction and further serving to give balance and impetus to the impeller duringro tation, and means for driving the impeller.

ELIM. GREENLEE. JOSEPH s. KNITTEL. 

